The Life of a Mason
by TeamEtharahRules
Summary: My name is Elizabeth Mason and I am the sister to Hal,Ben, and Matt. These are my adventures with my family. Enjoy
1. The beginning

Disclaimer: I don't own Falling Skies. If I did, I would be Hal's gf.

Chapter 1: The beginning

So my name is Elizabeth Mason and I am the only daughter of Tom Mason. My older brothers are Hal and Ben and my little brother is Matt. Our mom died when the aliens came to Earth.

After we found out that mom died, we left our house and we went to go find Ben at his friend's house across the street. Hal, Matt, and I walked to the red, brick house and yelled Ben's name repeatedly,waiting for a reply. We didn't get one. Matt began to get worried. "Liz, where's Ben?" Matt asked.

"I don't know, Matt, but we'll find him and dad. I promise." I reassured him and myself. Hal saw my distress and ran over to help me comfort Matt.

We came out of the house and made our way to the university that Dad worked at. Hal went in first while Matt and I waited outside and Hal came back outside and told me to carry Matt and close his eyes. I listened to my brother and picked Matt up and told him to lower his head under my neck. He heard my firm, yet gentle, voice and did as I asked.

We walked in the building and I saw bodies of students and faculty,alike, dead on the floor. I began searching everybody to see if Dad was there with them. I didn't want to know if he was, but we had to find out. Fortunately,he wasn't there and we went up to his office and saw his secretary lying at her desk in a pool of blood from a head wound. I was so nervous and scared of what we would find in Dad's office. Hal opened the door and Dad was in the room, not moving.

Tears started running down my face but I wouldn't let the tears reach Matt. I won't let him know anything until I knew what happened. I gave Matt to Hal and once I was sure Matt couldn't see anything, I walked over to Dad. I shook him and felt his pulse. It was beating. I released a sigh of relief after feeling my father's pulse, after not feeling my mother's. I got Dad awake from the lessons I learned at medical summer camp for five years in a row.

I smirked at Hal and said, "Not so bad for someone that went to medical summer camp, huh Hal." He laughed and I helped Dad up. We all hugged and Dad asked the question I had been dreading.

He asked," Elizabeth, where is your brother and your mother?"

I replied, "Dad, mom is dead and we don't know where Ben is." Dad cried and I hugged him as he cried into my shoulder. Once he stopped he took Matt from Hal and gave Matt back to me. We left and went back to our house to pack everything we may need to find Ben and survive.

**A/N: This is my first story on fanfiction and I would really love it if you left a nice little review for me. **


	2. Finding others

Disclaimer: I don't get any profit out of this story. :-(

We've been walking around Boston and the rest of Massachusetts for days looking for Ben and other survivors. We haven't had any success, but we went to wal-mart and raided the food, drinks, meds, and weapons. Dad was upset about the weapons, but I convinced him we needed the guns. We needed to protect Matt. Hal, being the overprotective brother that he is, stated we needed them to protect me also. I laughed at that and I punched him playfully on the arm.

That made Matt laugh. I was happy he laughed; he hadn't truly laughed since Mom died and Ben went missing. Mom's traits went into effect in me and I felt as if I had to make everybody happy and find my older brother.

We left wal-mart and set up camp in the woods where those aliens couldn't find us. Dad went to sleep after Matt and I did. I had Matt sleep next to me so I could watch over him and he didn't object, he could tell I was worried and my mom traits were coming out.

I pretended to go to sleep until Matt fell asleep and I got up and checked on Hal. He was still awake and was sitting on a mold covered, fallen tree limb. He saw me and sighed. I could tell he wanted to be alone, but I could also tell he wanted to talk to someone.

I sat down next to him and said, "Hey, Hallie."

"What did I say about calling me that?" He replied teasingly.

"You said never to call you that unless it was an emergency."

"What's wrong, what's the emergency?" He asked, worried.

"Well, you're staying up and not sleeping. You look like you're upset and I want to cheer you up."

He smiled at me and said, "Mom is really coming out in you in this trip. Thanks for everything since, well, you know. I'm scared, Liz, really scared for me, Ben, you, dad, Matt. I mean what if there are no survivors, what if..."

I stopped him there and said, " Don't worry, we'll all be ok and we'll find survivors. We can't be the only ones those bloody aliens left alive. And if we don't find survivors, it'll be ok cause we have each other." Hal smiled at my little speech and hugged me.

He told me to go to sleep and I stood up and put my hands on my hips and told him in my 'mom' voice, "No, you go to sleep now and I'll do the first watch."

I watched him go to bed in defeat as I sat down on the log with my gun and watched as my father and siblings slept. I heard a noise in the woods and jolted up. I looked at my family and walked into the woods with my gun in hand. I saw a man's face so I ran back to my family and woke up my dad. I told him that I saw someone in the woods so we woke up Hal and Matt. I picked up Matt and we ran towards the person I saw. We met him and he said his name was Capt. Weaver and he was with a group of survivors called the 2nd mass. and they were looking for survivors like us. We joined them and I was beaming on the inside out. We had finally found others.

**A/N: I hope yall leave me a beautiful review for me to give shout-outs to people. **


	3. The 2nd Mass

Disclaimer: I get no reward from this, except the cute little reviews.

We have been with the 2nd mass for a week and everybody is treating us weird except for the fighters that we serve with. The men stare at me funny and when I tell Hal, they immediately stop. I think he fights them or something in that area.

The search for Ben has been nonstop, sometimes ,at night, I leave the camp to try and find him. I've come up short. I have been so worried about Ben and if those skitters, as we call them now, have gotten him and put one of those harness things on him. People have told me that the harness makes the skitters control kids and make them do the aliens' work. I told Dad that I've lost weight and he said why and I told him it was probably worry over Ben and he told me not to worry, that we were going to get him back.

Well, one night, I left the second mass and heard a noise in the town we were staying in. I went towards the sound and saw harnessed kids picking up metal with their hands and putting it in a pile. I recognized some of the kids from the pictures that the parents put up and I saw one kid look at me and it was Ben.

I saw Ben! I noticed the building was one of the huge warehouses in the city and I ran to the camp where I found my Dad talking to Colonel Porter and Capt. Weaver. I came in breathless, screaming.

"I found Ben!" I screamed at all of them once I opened the door. My Dad and Capt. Weaver took me outside to talk while Col. Porter stayed inside.

Capt. Weaver said, "Elizabeth, how and when did you find Ben?"

I replied sheepishly, "Well, for the past few nights I've been leaving camp to find him and tonight I had success. He is in one of those warehouses on the north side of the city. I'm really sorry I did this, but I was just so worried. I wasn't able to sleep anyway so what else was I supposed to do, just sit here while my brother was being controlled by some unknown alien creatures. No way."

"Elizabeth, you could've been taken and we wouldn't know if you were hurt or anything. You need to be more careful." My father and Capt. Weaver said. They took me to Dr. Anne Glass and she gave me some medicine that will help me sleep. I felt the waves of unconsciousness start to come over me and the last words I heard were from my father, "Don't worry, sweetie, we'll find him."

After I heard that, I passed out from exhaustion and the sleep meds.

**A/N: I am so sorry it is short. Chapter four will be a lot longer than this. I promise**


	4. Getting Ben

Disclaimer: I don't own this show or I would be in the show.

I woke up with a headache in the Med bus that we found for Dr. Glass and her assistant, Lourdes, to use for injured soldiers. I got off the bed I was laying on and made my way out of the bus and off to find my Dad or one of my brothers. I finally found all three of them in the cafeteria eating with Weaver. I gave a cough to let them know I was there. Dad sat up so fast I thought he would fall and ran towards me and gave me a bone- crushing hug. I returned it.

I said," Dad.. I can't.. breathe." He let go saying," sorry." I was fine, but I wanted to know what the heck was going on.

I asked Dad, "How long did you guys put me down for?"

Matt came towards me and as I picked him up, he whispered in my ear," Three days." I put my brother down.

"WHAT! Dad may I speak to you outside the cafeteria, please." He followed me out of the room while Hal stayed with Matt.

"Dad, how could you do that. I could've helped you guys find Ben. I mean I know where he is and Weaver won't let me or any of us go get him. Anne can figure out a way to get that dang thing off of his back. I just want my brother back and I can help get him." I was angry,sad,crying in anger, and yelling.

I looked in the cafeteria and everybody was looking at me,even this girl with blonde hair in a high ponytail with brown eyes standing with Hal and Matt. She had her arm around Hal. I didn't know her and in my moment of anger, I went in there and yelled at Hal.

"Who is this and why does she have her arm around you like that?" He got up and grabbed my hands before I punched somebody. He told me ,in a calm voice, that her name was Karen and she was a survivor they found. Also she was Hal's girlfriend. I felt guilty saying all that to him.

So I said to everybody, especially Karen, "I'm so sorry." I ran out of the cafeteria with Hal and Karen running after me. I heard Hal calling me by my name and I picked up my speed. He caught up to me, since he was faster, and when he did I fell down to my knees crying in his shoulder. He rubbed soothing circles in my back to calm me down.

I finally was able to talk and he asked Karen to leave for a minute.

He said," Now why is my beautiful, little sister crying and getting mad after just waking up?"

I replied, "I know where Ben is and no one is trying to go get him and then Dad won't let me help. He puts me on sleep meds just so I'll be able to sleep and then your girlfriend, Karen, just shows up outta nowhere. I'm just so confused and angry, Hal. Help me understand. I just feel like since I'm the only female in the family now, that I need to act like Mom and make sure you, Ben, Dad, and Mattie are ok before I check on myself."

Once I finally calmed down, Hal hugged me tighter than he ever has.

He said,"I never knew you felt like that. We all need you, but we will all depend on each other and we will find Ben. And Karen, you don't need to worry about her, she's fine. She was in the same grade you were in. 11th grade. Everything is gonna be all right, you'll see."

I left Hal with a smile and feeling much better. I may be his little sis, but he always knew how to cheer me up. That night I knew what I had to do since Weaver wasn't being any help at all. I called a family meeting. We, as a family, all agreed that me, Dad, and Hal, plus Karen, would go get Ben.

Matt got mad, but I told him he could stay with Uncle Scott and when we came back he and I could play and draw for two hours a day for two whole weeks. Dad told me that his professor friend, that came while I asleep for three days, taught Anne how to remove the harness without killing the child. We could get Ben and get that harness off of him.

So the next night, we left camp. Dad and Hal reluctantly agreed to let me go in and get Ben. I would've gone anyways. We used an old harness and placed it on my back. It felt horrible. I don't understand how these kids can deal with this horrible thing. This feeling just furiated me even more.

We got to the warehouse and I noticed the kids that were harnessed. I saw them walking and I began to walk with them. We went into a room and had to get into a circle to go to sleep. We had to get under the skitter. It was disgusting sleeping under those bloody creatures.

After all of the kids and skitters went to sleep, I got out from under the skitter. I got up and went towards the door. I tiptoed as quietly as I could towards the door. I opened up the door and...

**A/N: This may be long. Please r&r. This chapter took a really long time to perfect. **


	5. Trade

Disclaimer: I love this show, but I do not get any profit from it.

SUMMARY~

I got up and walked towards the door.

END OF SUMMARY~

I winced and looked behind me when the door squeaked open. I sighed in relief when none of the skitters woke up. I continued to open the door and I stepped out and started to make my way towards the room where the leader skitters slept. I planned to kill them or use them as leverage to get Ben back. I would die to save my older brother.

I was walking to the room when I bumped into a person. I was about to say sorry when I thought, 'Wait, there aren't any humans here.' I looked up, in fear, and saw a skitter looking down at me. It grabbed me and rubbed its finger on my head and all I saw was black.

Outside: Hal's POV

'Where is she? She should've been back out here with Ben, by now.' I thought. I told Dad, about my worries, and he allowed me to go in and get her and Ben. I walked into the warehouse and saw Liz, unconscious, being carried by a skitter to a room. I looked inside the room and saw Ben staring emotionless at her like that wasn't his little sister being taken. I heard noises behind me and turned around and was hit hard by a piece of metal.

I woke up with a pounding headache. I looked around at my surroundings and saw my little sister lying on the ground next to Ben, both of them unconscious. The skitter saw me wake up and came over to me. It did something that resembled an evil grin as it kicked Elizabeth in the back.

I heard her groan in pain as she was painfully awoken. I watched as I saw her grow sad at the sight of Ben. The skitter came near Ben and tapped him on the shoulder and he woke up.

Ben turned to his sister and threw her towards me. I tried my best to grab her.

Elizabeth's POV

I woke up with a huge headache and a burning back. I felt my back and it felt bruised. I suspect those stupid skitters kicked me awake. I looked around my area and saw Ben lying asleep next to me and Hal hung up on the wall. Hal looked angry and in pain. I looked at Ben and felt my face turn into an emotion of sadness.

I saw the skitter, that grabbed me, tap Ben on the shoulder and watched as Ben got up. He came towards me, picked me up and threw me towards Hal. Hal tried to catch me,but failed, as I hit the wall and fell on the floor. Pain was all I felt in my back, but I ignored it when I saw the harness on Ben.

In revenge for my brother, I grabbed my gun from my pants and aimed it at the skitter and when I placed my finger on the trigger, I felt a pressure on my shoulder. I turned and saw another skitter behind me. It grabbed me and turned me around to look at Ben. His harness was glowing orange and his eyes looked dazed and glassy.

He spoke in a cold, harsh tone that wasn't his. It gave me chills when he spoke to me.

He said, "Elizabeth and Hal Mason, we've been waiting for you to get here. Ben was getting lonely. We figured to have all three of the oldest Mason kids together. We know you want your brother, but we need him. We could give him back, but then we would have to make a trade. We really want you, Elizabeth. You would make a wonderful addition to our children." Once the skitter finished talking, Ben collapsed on the ground as if he was a rag doll.

I ran to him and found that he was still breathing. I smiled at Hal and winked at him. He knew what I was going to do.

He yelled at me, "Don't do it,Elizabeth. Please, think about the family. Think about Matt."

I replied sadly,"I am thinking about Matt and the family, Hal. I always have and I always will."

I held back my tears and said to the skitter,"Take me instead. Hal is too old for you. I'm 15, I'm the perfect age. I'll take Ben's place. Only on one condition, you can take me if you let my brother,Hal, take Ben and you leave the rest of my family alone."

The skitter nodded in acknowledgement at my terms. He released Hal and as Hal grabbed Ben, I gave both of them a kiss on the cheek as my way of saying goodbye.

I told Hal," Don't let Ben know I took his place. Tell Matt and Dad I love them. I don't know if they will ever see me again. Tell Ben I love him when he wakes up, you hear me Hal. You have to be brave for them, like I am for you and Ben. You promise me, Hal Mason."

I yelled at Hal as my brothers were taken out of the building and I was left alone.

**A/N:Please leave a review. Even a guest review would make me the happiest person on Earth. I love all of yall for reading my story. Have some cookies. :-)**


	6. The Harness

**Shoutouts!**

**Erik'sgirlforever-Thank you so much for your review. It made me laugh. I love you for reading this story. Have a good cookie.**

Disclaimer: I don't understand why we have to do this. I do NOT own this show. :-(

I watched as Hal took Ben outside with tears down my face as the skitters took me away.

They took me to a harness factory and laid me down,on a med table, on my stomach. I heard the harness make its way towards my exposed back and I felt its slime as it crawled up my spinal cord. I began screaming as the needles of the harness pierced my skin and attached to my spinal cord.

The skitter that originally grabbed me, stroked its hand on my face as I relaxed into the welcoming darkness of unconsciousness as the creatures took control of my body and mind.

The next day, me and the other harnessed kids went out and grabbed hot, burning metal and put it in a huge pile. We did this all day. After a whole day of doing work, we left to go to sleep inside the warehouse underneath the skitters. The night is my favorite time of day, since I get to actually think and have my mind to myself. I get to count the days since I've been here.

I can't believe it, it has been 2 weeks. I miss my family dearly. I hope they are alright and that Matt is alright. I hope they will come to save me or ,as I hope this will happen, I can escape using my mind. I've been stengthening my mind and lately I have been able to disobey some orders.

The next morning, we went to work, again, and I didn't feel the numbness I usually feel when the skitters take control. I took that as a sign and I broke into a run in the woods towards the camp. I heard running behind me and knew it was the skitters, but I didn't care, I was a lot faster than them because of my abilities. I heard a voice in my mind as I tried to keep it in my control. It was my brother, Ben. I told him I was on my way to the camp and he said they moved to John F. Kennedy High School. I changed course and headed towards the school. A short while later,I got to the school and heard voices at the back of the building. I went to check it out.

I ran to the school's science lab and looked inside the window on the far, right side of the room facing the beds. I saw Ben lying on his stomach on the bed sleeeping peacefully. The harness was off of him. Dad, Hal, and Matt were all around him, just staring. They looked like a family, except I wasn't there. I didn't want to go in, because I didn't want Matt to see me like this with a harness on my back. Dad and Hal looked ridden with guilt and Matt just looked so sad. I started to walk in to see my family, forcing myself to not turn back to the skitters. I fell over the window sill and landed on the floor with a grunt.

Dad, Hal, and Matt all looked in my direction and saw the harness still on me. Hal came over to pick me up. I allowed him to and he laid me on the bed on my stomach. Horrifying memories of the factory came crashing into my mind. I started screaming and thrashing around. I started crying and I even punched Dad one time. Dad and Hal had to hold me down, while Matt went to go get Dr. Glass.

I started crying in fear and Dad told me, in a swoothing voice, "Sweetie, you are alright. You're home with us." I heard Dr. Glass come in and soon I felt woozy. I guess she put me on anesthesia.

I started to fall asleep. The last thing I heard was, "Elizabeth?"

**A/N: Please R&R. I will love all of yall. You guys are great. Have virtual cookies.**


	7. Reunion

**Shoutouts: **

**erik'sgirlforever: Thank you for reviewing and I'm glad that I made your day less boring. Glad you liked your cookie.**

**Lexi123321: Thank you for taking the time to catch up. Your reviews made me laugh so hard. I'm sorry your back felt weird. Have a cookie and a coke for your troubles. **

Disclaimer: What is the reason behind this? I do not own this show.

I woke up in the hospital room/science lab in the high school. I saw Dad and Matt asleep in a chair across from my bed. Matt looked so young and peaceful asleep in Dad's lap. I'd give anything to see that on my baby brother's face all the time.

I looked out the classroom door's window and saw Hal and Ben. They seemed to be in a deep discussion. I noticed Hal had beads of sweat on his tan face and Ben had confusion and curiousty written on his pale face. Sudden thoughts crammed my mind.

'Wait, when did Ben wake up? How long have I been asleep?'

Hal looked into the room and looked in my direction. I began to realize they had been talking about me and I feared Hal had told Ben what I had done. Hal met my eyes saw me and ran into the room. He woke up Dad and Matt.

Ben came into the room as well and turned his back to me. 'Oh no, he knows and now he is mad at me.' I shook my head and came back to the reality that I now live in.

I looked at Ben and saw needle-like spikes on his back. I felt my back and felt spikes on my back as well. Ben turned around and looked at me touching my spikes. I quickly put my hand down when I saw his eyes become sad.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and grabbed the courage to speak.

I asked, "How long have I been out?"

Dad looked at me and said four days.

I began to wonder what had happened during the time I was asleep. Hal looked at me and answered my unasked questions. He told me that we were running low on medicine, this guy named Clayton was going to take us kids to a safe place in the country away from aliens, and Karen got taken by the aliens. I saw the tears forming in his eyes. I got up and gave him a hug telling him I was sorry. I went to give Ben a hug.

He whispered in my ear, "We need to talk outside, alone." I followed him outside with a feeling of dread.

He started, "How are you feeling?"

I replied, "I'm fine, just really tired and sore."

"How were you able to escape with the harness still fully on?" He asked me curiously.

"I would strengthen my mind at night when I was able to think for myself. The nighttime was my favorite because I wasn't being controlled by them. Did you ever feel like that,Ben?" I asked him. I wanted to stear away from the question I could feel was waiting to tip over the edge.

"I would feel like myself at night and I could think about you and the rest of the family. I have one question, do your spikes hurt?" Ben's question brought me back to reality.

"They hurt a little, but that's expected isn't it? And I felt the same way. I missed you guys so much. Especially you, Benny. "

I laughed and he laughed at his old nickname. His face quickly got serious and I frowned at his expression. I knew the question was about to come. It was treading on thin ice.

He asked me," How did you get taken, I asked Hal and he told me what happened, but I wanted to hear it from you."

There it was. It has slipped off the edge, fallen into the water, the dam has broken. You name it, the question has come out.

I sighed, "Ben, I went in the warehouse to go get you and I accidently made the door squeak when I was going out and a skitter took me. Hal noticed I was gone longer than I should've been so he went in and couldn't find me. He found you and took you out. I was being taken to the factory and I saw Hal take you. I woke up the next day under the control of the skitters. I was able to get my mind back and that's when I was able to contact you and make my way here. Now I'm back here with my family, safe and sound." I finished my tale and Ben looked as if he would kill some of those skitters himself.

I just couldn't make myself look at Ben after I lied to him about the story. I took his place so he could go home and he doesn't even know.

He must've thought I was sad, because he came over and hugged me saying, "It's gonna be ok. I promise." We went back inside the room and I gave Matt a huge hug, which he quickly returned. He buried his head into my shoulder and I heard him sniffle. I pulled him off and had him look me in my eyes. My brown eyes looking into his green ones.

I told him, "Hey, it's alright. I'm back and I'm never leaving again. Ok."

I went to Hal and asked him, while we hugged, if he told Ben that I had taken his place. Hal shook his head no. I went to Dad and asked him if we could talk outside the room. He looked confused, but nodded yes.

I asked him, "Did Hal tell you anything about the night they took me?"

Dad replied,"He told me that they took you when they heard you open the door to go get Ben. Why is that not what happened?" I looked down at my shoes as if they were brand new. I was ashamed about this, but I had to tell Dad.

Dad said,"Elizabeth, what happened?" I told Dad that I had told the aliens to take me instead of Ben.

He asked me, "Does Ben know about this?"

"I haven't told him and I don't want him to know. Please don't tell him, Dad."

"I won't, but you're going to have to tell him sooner or later."

"I know, but I don't want to. He'll be so mad at me. I just wanted to save his life. He's my big brother, he deserves to be here with us and not with them. I just missed him so much. Help me, Dad. I need your help." I hate asking for help, but it needs to be done.

"I will help you, Elizabeth. You just need to tell him yourself before someone else does. It will hurt more from someone else than if you tell him. You should tell him tonight before you guys leave tomorrow with Clayton."

"I will, Dad, after supper." I felt my stomach knot up as I went to the cafeteria.

**A/N:Thank you all for reading and reviewing. I had homework to do before this and I changed a lot of of things to make this chappie work. So please review.**


	8. Conversations and Sanctuary

**Shoutouts!**

**erik'sgirlforever: Your review made me laugh. I'm sorry about that jerk. Enjoy the chappie.**

**Lexi123321: Your review was hilarious. I hope you are satisfied in this chapter. I worked hard on this.**

**Thank you everyone who is reading this. I love all of yall. Especially my reviewers. I love yall bunches.**

Disclaimer: Once again, I don't own this show.

We ate supper in the cafeteria and the food was delicious. This guy named Pope made it. Dad told me that while I was with the skitters, they found him and his gang with a girl, named Maggie. I think Hal likes her. Good thing too, I never trusted Karen. She looked as if she would become something horrible.

Anyways, Pope is supposed to be a bad guy, but I think he is hilarious. He always defies authority with sarcastic remarks that just make you laugh. He is tall, tan, and lean. He had brown hair and a brown, scraggly beard. The funny part is is that he is our cook and he is having to wear a hair net.

After supper, I asked Ben to come outside with me to the courtyard where the head bust of John Kennedy stood. He followed me out there and we sat down on the old, green bench in the middle of the courtyard. I looked around and saw nobody around so I started to talk.

I told him," I have something to tell you about the night I was captured by the skitters."

"What is it?"

"Well, on that night I askedtheskitterstotakemeinyourplace." I said very quickly at the end.

"What did you say, I didn't understand?" He asked.

"I said, I asked the skitters to take me in your place." I replied, while looking down at the soft, green grass. I looked over at Ben and he had a thoughtful look on his face, as if deciding what kind of words he should say to reply to what I had just told him. I knew that this was the calm before the storm, as sailors say.

Ben stood up and started pacing which made me even more anxious.

Ben finally stopped and said,

"How could you take my place? Why would you take my place? Didn't you at once think of Matt, Hal, Dad, or yourself. I mean why would you even do that? Didn't you know that you wouldn't see them ever again?" He calmed down and looked at me waiting for a response.

I replied as I tried to keep my tears back, "I did it because the aliens had taken my older brother and Matt wouldn't smile anymore. I wanted my family back with me and just a little bit normal. I was worried all the time and I couldn't sleep because I would have nightmares of what they were doing to you. I wanted you home, Ben. I couldn't help and I felt like I needed to do something to save you. I said take me, because they said they needed you and they also said I was valuable to them, for some reason. I was thinking of the family the whole time, especially Matt. So I told them to take me if they left you, Hal and the rest of my family alone. They agreed and took me. I didn't want to tell you this, but Dad convinced me to tell you. Ben, please forgive me. I did it to protect my brothers."

I felt my eyes water as I finished my answers. I looked at Ben and he was very quiet, quieter than I've ever heard him be.

He said, "I understand why you did it, but Hal and I are supposed to protect you and Matt, not the other way around. Now I want you to go to sleep and make sure Matt is too."

I turned around to go inside to go to our room we were sleeping in. It was the family room, we had our own room for the whole family. I turned my head when I heard Ben call my name.

He said, as I turned around, "I forgive you, little sis."

I ran towards Ben and enveloped him in one of my legendary bear hugs. He returned the hug and we headed to bed.

The next morning, we packed up our supplies and said goodbye to Dad. He told my brothers to go on ahead and that I would catch up in a bit.

Dad hugged me and said, "Be careful and keep your brothers out of trouble. I'll meet up with you soon and we'll all be together again. Don't let Rick bother you and Ben about your spikes. If you feel that anything is wrong, you tell Hal. Stay safe, ok sweetie."

I thought, 'Oh no, I forgot Rick was coming.'

Rick was one of my Dad's friend's son. He was harnessed just like me and Ben. He was just more on the skitter's side than we were. He would also say something to me and Ben about our decision to not go back to them. I came out of my thoughts when I heard Dad call my name.

"Sorry Dad, just thinking. Don't worry, I will Dad. Love you and it'll be hard to keep them outta trouble. .You know how they are."

Dad and I exchanged a laugh as I ran to catch up with my brothers. I walked up to Matt and walked. with him. We were on our way to our new sanctuary.

**A/N: Please leave a review. I thought I would give you a Sunday chapter. Love you guys. Sorry about the grammer mistakes, FF is being weird today. **


	9. Something's wrong here

**Shoutouts!**

**erik'sgirlforever: I really only did this for the cupcake. I'm only kidding. Enjoy**

**Lexi123321:I may be showing off, but I already had chapters 1-11 already done. Enjoy.**

Disclaimer: Please leave a review, this is the only profit I get.

We just got to the house that Lt. Clayton was taking us to. He stopped us in the front yard of the place.

He said to us, with a smile, "This is my beautiful daughter, Tessa. She'll be helping you get comfortable here at our sweet abode. While we wait for supper, why don't you guys play some soccer."

Of course, Hal and Ben jumped in the game instantaneous. I sat down on a bench next to Rick. I felt uncomfortable, so I laid down on the bench. Surprisingly, the old bench was very long. I saw Matt come over to us and I sat up so he could sit in my lap.

He sat down and asked,"Why don't you come play soccer with us. You can be goalie, you always were good at soccer."

'Flattery. Hmmm. I guess I'll go and play, even though the spikes are killing my back.'

I put on a smile for him and went over to play feeling Rick's eyes watching me. We played for a hour or two and then I took a break. I was not even sweating, but I had to pretend I needed a break.

'I knew me going for a long time exercising without sweating was reason for concern, but I don't need to worry anyone about it.'

I sat back down next to Rick and he said some words to me that sent chills down my spine.

He said, "You don't belong here. You belong with us. You are valuable to us and we need you. We are your family and you should come with us and get a new harness."

"Belong with who, Rick. The skitters. I'm not going back to them, they ruined my life. They aren't my family and they can't have me or my family. They made a deal with me."I said.

"So be it." Rick said.

He got up and left me thinking about what he had said. Ben called my name and said they were doing a second round and they wanted me to play. I shook my head saying no. I stayed where I was sitting. I saw Ben coming towards me and I sighed and went towards the house to go to the bedroom set up for the second mass.

I looked through the window and saw Ben start to come inside and Hal stopped him.

With my enhanced hearing, I heard Hal say,"Just leave her alone for now. She'll be fine, she's probably just tired. I know I would be if I was her. She is doing everything to make sure we're ok. It's like Mom never died with Liz still here."

Hal and Ben went back to the game while Matt looked at me through the window in confusion.

He motioned for me to come down, but I shook my head no. He looked sad and returned to the game. I felt like I had been punched in the stomach when I saw him get sad and walk away from me.

After the game, I heard Tessa say it was time for supper. I went down to the dining room and sat in between Ben and Matt. I could see they had questions. I gave them all a look that said 'not here, but later'. They saw the look and just ate their supper as I sorta played with mine.

Rick's father, Mike, looked at me and mouthed, "Are you ok?"

I mouthed back,"Yes, I'm fine." He nodded and continued eating.

Rick spoke up and said to me,

"How can you eat their food. How can you act like this? Like nothing has happened?"

I coughed hard when I heard him say that to me. I can't believe he would bring this up, here and now.

"Excuse me?" I said confused.

"Don't you remember what I said earlier? I told you that you didn't...

His father interrupted him and said, "Rick, we are guests here and you will behave. Everybody and Elizabeth, I am sorry about my son's behavior."

"No it's fine. May I be excused, please." I asked Lt. Clayton. He allowed me to go and I got up and ran out of the room.

My siblings could tell I wished to be left alone, right now. I ran outside and let the tears flow. 'I shouldn't even be crying, this shouldn't hurt me. I must be strong for my family. I thought I could handle Rick. I thought he wouldn't be able to hurt me. When he said I didn't belong here and that I belonged with the skitters, I felt horrible.'

I sat down in the grass and heard many loud feet coming up behind me.

It was my brothers. I quickly wiped my tears away, with the back of my hand, as they sat on the soft grass, in front of me. Ben and Hal asked the question I really didn't want to talk about.

They asked, "What was Rick talking about?"

I sighed, "He said I didn't belong here, that I belonged with the skitters. That I wasn't a part of this family anymore and that they were my family now. He also said that I was valuable to the skitters. Why do they keep saying I'm valuable to them." I said.

"Elizabeth, you do belong here with us and not with those alien freaks." Hal told me.

"You are a part of this family. They will never be your family." Ben added.

"We don't know why they say you are valuable to them, but you are valuable to us." Matt told me. I smiled at all of them.

They said they were headed to bed and I said I'll be there in a second. I wanted to stare at the moon and stars for a minute.

I heard Hal chuckle and say," Still such a girl." I laughed and watched them leave. I heard a noise near me and heard a child's voice. I went near it to see if the child needed help.

I found out that it was Eli Russel with Lt. Clayton. Eli Russel was one of Matt's friends and so I felt protective over him, just like I do with the other kids. I turned my head and saw a skitter and a harnessed kid, named Megan.

I froze as I felt a familar numbness when I saw the skitter come closer. I could still see and I saw Megan take Eli with the skitter. I wanted to go get him and bring him back. I noticed Eli struggling and trying to leave. A mech came near and stunned him. Eli lay still on the ground.

The skitter picked him up and they walked away. Once they left, I had my control and could move again. I ran to my brothers as one thought kept running through my mind.

'Clayton is giving the kids to the skitters. He made a deal with them.'

We have to get out of here. NOW!

**A/N: Since I have done two in one day, I will not update until Tues. or Wed. I love all of yall.**


	10. Nightmares and Departure

S

Disclaimer: This is one of my fave chapters and y'all's satisfaction in it is the best profit I can get.

I went inside the house and up the stairs to Hal to wake him up. He woke up with a grunt and saw me through his sleepy, half-awake eyes. I motioned for him to get his butt up and come outside with me. He got up quietly and followed me outside. I whispered to him that Clayton was giving kids to the skitters.

He didn't believe me. He said," We are in a new place and you are just worried. We will all be fine. Clayton told me he was taking Eli for a walk. Come on, inside. You look like your freezing." Hal put his arm around me and I snuggled inside his jacket to get warm. We headed back into the house. He told me just to go back to sleep and I got into my sleeping bag.

'Maybe I did just imagine it. But then how did I feel the numbness that the skitters bring when they are near me and Ben.' I went to sleep with the feeling that nightmares were going to come tonight.

NIGHTMARE~

'It was dark all around me, then one by one my family appeared.

Dad showed up first and said,"I wish you had died instead of your mother. It would've been better for all of us." Dad left and I felt like I had been stabbed with a fiery dagger in my chest.

Hal came next and said, "We never needed you around. You are worthless. You don't belong with us." He left and tears prickled at my eyes.

Ben appeared and spoke to me saying, "You aren't a part of this family. You never were. I'm glad you took my place. We were better without you." Ben disappeared and the tears fell down my cheeks. I soon realized that they were saying the exact opposite of what they had told me earlier.

Matt came and said to me, "I'm glad the skitters took you. You were a horrible big sister. I hate you. You aren't valuable, you aren't special to us or them. I wished you were taken instead of Ben at first. We were happy when you were gone. We didn't want you here." He vanished.

I felt sick with sadness. I saw my mother appear in front of me. She helped me up and stroked my hair. Oh my gosh, how I missed her motherly comfort.

As I leaned into her touch of comfort, she pulled her hand away and said, "How dare you take my place after I died. I should've lived and you should've died. We all would've been happier. Ben wouldn't feel guilty and your father wouldn't have to see me in you everytime he looked at you. We didn't need you. You were an embarrassment to us."

She left and I fell down on the ground holding my chest as it felt like I was being stabbed by thousands of piercing knives. I felt someone shaking me and calling my name. I woke up.

NIGHTMARE OVER~

I sat up, shaking. Hal was behind me. I guess he was the one shaking me awake. Ben and Matt were sitting in front of me looking at me scared. I saw all of the other kids looking at me. Lourdes came over and checked to see if I was ok. I told her I was fine. Hal helped me up and he took me and my brothers outside of the room. We stopped and he held my hand. I was still shaking as if I was in the frigid north in a tank top and shorts.

Hal asked me, "What was your nightmare about?"

"What are you talking about, I didn't have a nightmare." I replied as the nightmare kept replaying in my mind as my family kept saying those horrible words at me.

Matt came up to me and said, "Liz, I always sleep next to you, wherever we are, and I heard you saying no and please stop. You were even crying in your sleep."

"That's because... in my dream I was being tickled by Mom and she kept doing it and I asked her to stop. I was laughing so hard in my dream it must've been like I was crying in my sleep." I replied trying to not let them find out about my nightmare.

I looked at all of their faces and kept hearing their cruel words hurled at me.

Ben came to me and said, "You don't have to tell us what it was about, but you can at least tell us you had a nightmare instead of hiding it from us."

I finally gave in and said, "Alright, I had a nightmare. It was about all of our family,including Mom. Something horrible happened to one of us." That wasn't a lie, it was a close truth. I was afraid to tell them about my dream. I started shaking again and they all embraced me in a hug.

They said, "It's alright, we're all here and we're ok."

When I woke up it was already close to sunrise,so we just went into the living room to wait for everybody else to wake up. I felt drained, so I went to sleep on Ben's shoulder and I felt Matt lay his head on my lap and go to sleep also. I looked at Hal, who was sitting in the chair across from the couch that we were laying on, and he put his hands next to his head and pretended to go to sleep. I chuckled and fell asleep. It was a dreamless sleep that I was happy about.

The next hour or so, I felt Hal waking all of us up. I got Matt up and then got off of Ben. We went in the kitchen with everybody else. They were all staring at me and I felt uncomfortable. I just sat next to my brothers and ate my breakfast.

After breakfast I asked Mike, Lourdes, Hal, Ben, and Matt to meet me outside when they finished eating. They came outside shortly after I did. I told them all my suspicions about Clayton and Hal, again, told me he didn't believe me.

Mike backed me up and said, "What Elizabeth is saying is true. Last night I went to the barn, as I had my suspicions, and saw tons of backpacks belonging to little kids and I saw Eli Russel's red backpack among the bags. Clayton caught me down there and told me he had made a deal with the skitters to protect his daughter. He wanted me to help him and I told him no. He left and that is when I ran back to the bedroom. I came in right before you guys woke Elizabeth up." He said.

I shivered as I remembered my nightmare. Mike told us to act like we didn't know anything and then at night we will leave with the kids. We all agreed and did some cleaning around the house and played some soccer.

That night after everybody went to sleep my brothers and I got Mike, Lourdes, and the children out of the bedroom as quietly as possible.

We went down the stairs and was greeted by Tessa who was going up the stairs. Hal walked down the stairs to her and asked if she knew about the deal. She stuttered and said she did. We walked away and she started yelling for her dad.

We all broke into a run, me in the back with Rick and Mike. We were close to the woods when we heard gun shots at us. I stayed with Mike and Rick trying to get Rick to come with me. He stayed where he was.

I looked at Mike and could see what he was going to do. He was going to sacrifice himself as I had done for Ben. He hugged Rick and told him that he loved him no matter what. Rick just stood stock still while his father hugged him for the last time. I turned my back to them to give them a moment.

Mike pushed Rick off towards me and I caught him. He told us both to go and I pulled Rick with me. I looked at Mike and he winked at me. Rick and I ran to the woods and we heard a gun go off near the truck Mike was hiding behind. We had left our supposed sanctuary and it had cost **e**Mike's life. Mike was gone.

**A/N: I am really sorry that this is kinda short. I thought it was longer . Read and review, everybody.**


	11. Nightmares and Departure Part 2

**Shoutouts!**

**Lexi123321: I am sorry that Mike died, it is in the storyline. Have a cookie for your troubles.**

Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own this show.

Rick and I stopped dead in our tracks when we heard the gunshot. I looked over at Rick and he stared back to where his father was. He stood stock stiff like a person stuck in a block of ice, just freezing and trapped in his mind. I can't even imagine what he is thinking right now.

I pulled Rick towards me and pulled him into a hug. His arms dangled at my side, limp.

I said to him, "We need to go. We'll come back for him. I promise you that." Rick wouldn't move and I had to yell at him.

"Come on, Rick. Clayton will catch up with us. You need to go."

I pushed him ahead of me and he came out of his daze and ran to catch up with the group. I looked around and walked to the place I last saw Mike. I went over to him and noticed Clayton had obviously left him for dead and left to get us. I sat with him.

He looked towards my direction, rolled his eyes and sighed.

He said to me, "You shouldn't be here. You should be with your brothers. You shouldn't be here with me. It's too late for me."

I replied with watery eyes, "No, no, I'll get help. I'll help you."

He smiled and said, "You can help my son, he'll need your help after this. You have helped me enough. You and your family are great fighters and I am proud that I have had the honor to serve with you guys.

Tell your father that I am glad to have fought with him.I truly am glad that you are back with us. Stay strong, you're a Mason. Make me proud. If you wanna fight for someone, then fight for me and your mother."

I felt tears building, "I am the one that should be proud to serve with you. You have protected and served this country since before the invasion. Thank you, Mike."

"No, thank you, Elizabeth."

Those were Mike's last words as I saw him smile at me and he died. I felt the tears fill up in my eyes. I left Mike with a promise, that he couldn't hear, that I would come back for him. I ran through the woods to catch up with Rick and the group. I caught up with them and looked at Rick. He looked at me and we made eye contact. He understood what I didn't say and nodded. I saw his eyes water.

We walked around for about an hour or so, and saw many lonely houses, broken trees, and destroyed cars on the cracked streets. It looked like an apocalypse had happened. The invasion has only been going on for a few months, but I can't believe it was this bad. Good thing, we still have hope and are fighting unlike that Clayton jerk. I saw this one house that looked huge and very pretty, but looked dilapidated.

Hal and Lourdes led us to the house. It was white, had two stories, and had trees in front of it. We went inside and the little kids went into the bedrooms and went to sleep. Us older kids stayed in the living room trying to find some supplies to take. The family that lived here was long gone, there was dust on the water bottles!

I looked towards Hal and saw him rub his eyes in an attempt to wake himself up. I walked towards him and told him he should go to sleep in one of those beds. He said he couldn't sleep, not now anyways. He was worried about me, Ben, and Matt. I nodded in understanding.

I looked over in the living room and saw Lourdes on the piano. I walked over to her and asked what she was playing. She told me that she was playing a song she learned when she was little, "David's Angels". She started playing it and the soft notes relaxed me and I felt calm for a while, since Mom died.

I left Lourdes and went over to Jimmy. I asked him if he was ok and he replied that he was fine.

I looked over at Rick and saw him staring out the window towards the woods. He was touching his spikes. I looked at Ben and saw that he was doing the same thing. I walked towards Ben and he quickly stopped.

I asked him, "What were you doing?"

He replied, "Nothing."

"Ok, Ben, if something is bothering you, just tell me."

"I'm fine Elizabeth."

I left Ben and went back over to Hal and heard him and Lourdes talking about if we should fight or head back to HQ. I said we should go back to Dad and Ben said he would go. He said he could do it because he had more endurance. Hal and I didn't want him to go, but he promised us that he would be safe. Hal gave him his jacket and told him to run to the camp, tell Weaver what is going on, and come back. Ben left and I went over to Rick. I asked Rick what he was doing and he said he was waiting.

I went upstairs to wake up Matt.

I went into the bedroom that Matt and two of his friends were sleeping in and saw all of them asleep on the bed. It was one of the cutest things I have ever seen in this world we live in now. I quietly walked towards the boys and tapped Matt on the shoulder. He didn't wake up so I picked him up and carried him downstairs and as I was picking him up, I heard a noise outside the house.

I ran down the stairs with Matt still in my arms and my jostling him woke him up. When we got on the first floor, I put him down and went to Hal. He had his head down on the counter, snoring softly. I smiled and then frowned knowing I had to wake him up. I shook him and he woke up. I whispered in his ear that I heard a noise outside.

He told me and Lourdes to wake the kids and meet in the livingroom, away from windows. Matt stayed hidden behind the couch. We got all of the children and hid behind the couch with Matt. I heard Clayton's voice telling us to surrender and come back with them.

Hal yelled, "NEVER!" That's my brother for yah, always trying to protect others.

Clayton and his men started to shoot at us and I covered the kids with my body and saw Lourdes do the same. I yelled at Hal to duck. Hal ducked and I heard my Dad's voice telling us to come outside. Hal uncocked his gun and went outside like Dad said. I could tell Hal was mad and I understood his emotions, but we went outside,after Hal, and Matt and I ran to Dad to hug him. He hugged us back and we followed Clayton back to our old sanctuary.

We came up to the old, two-story house and stopped in the front yard. Clayton put his gun on Dad and threatened to pull the trigger unless we stayed with them.

I yelled at Clayton, "Never, you will not take me or any of us to those wretched creatures just so you can save your own skin." Clayton pushed Dad aside and walked towards me. Hal came in front of me and tried to hold Clayton off. Clayton pushed Hal aside also and grabbed me by my hair. I screamed in pain and fear as he put the gun to my head. I felt the cold metal on the temple of my head and the tear rolling down my cheek as I realized this could be my last day on Earth.

Just as I felt Clayton pull back on the trigger, I heard another gun being cocked and turned my head, slighty, and saw Weaver pointing his gun at Clayton. He told Clayton to put his gun down or he would shoot. Clayton released me and I ran to my family. Weaver told them to stop giving kids to the skitters or that he would come back. We left our old sanctuary and went back to the school.

'I realized that I have had too many lucky shots since the invasion.' I thought.

I noticed Pope was with us and he had a gunshot wound near his artery in his thigh. I went over to Pope and put his arm around me to help him walk. He looked at me weird and I just gave him a small smile. I half carried, half walked him back to the school and took him to Anne. Anne laid him down on the bed and worked on his leg. I left the hospital/science classroom and went to go find my brothers. I went to the courtyard and found all three of them together. I walked towards them and they turned their heads towards me and a smile lit up on their faces. I sprinted the last feet and enveloped them in a bone-crushing hug. We broke the hug and just smiled at each other, even though I was hiding pain behind mine. I watched Mike die and I miss him terribly.

Dad calls us out to the front of the school and I see that there is a service for Mike. Dad asked Hal to lead as he and Mike were very close.

Hal started the service and says,"Mike fought for his family, friends, and the survival of this world. Rest peacefully, my friend."

Dad went up and talked about wars in history and how they related to us now and said to Mike,"Rest easy my friend."

I went up there and said,"Mike was a great man and he was a great soldier. He cared about all of us and about his son. Rest in peace, my friend." I choked up at the end when Dai rolled up the flag and gave it to Rick. I was standing next to Ben and heard Rick say something to Ben.

He said,"I don't understand how people kill their own kind. We would never do that, you should know that." My sadness turned into anger at those words. This was Rick's father's funeral and he was still with the skitters as if he didn't care about his father dying.

I went to our family bedroom in the school after the service and just let my tears come down. I heard someone knock on the door and I turned my back to the door and wiped my tears away. It could be Matt and I don't want him to see me crying. I need to be brave for him. I heard an older voice and turned around thinking it was Dad or Hal, but to my shock it was Ben.

He said,"Are you alright?"

I replied,"Of course, I'm fine."

"No, you're not. I can tell you've been crying. I heard you from outside the door. What happened with Mike?" It amazed me how easily he could read my emotions.

"Ben, I watched him d..die. Do you know how that feels? I watched Mike as he literally died in my arms and then hear Rick talk bad about him. How do you think I feel?" I saw a flicker of hurt flash across Ben's features, but he hid it as soon as it came, as usual.

I told him, "Ben, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. You're the only one who knows what I'm going through." I began to cry again and I felt Ben's arms envelope me in a hug as he soothed me.

"It's alright. You have definitely been through a lot. This may sound bad, but we all have been waiting for the moment that you would let go of these emotions instead of ignoring them and taking care of us."

"Taking care of y'all helps me deal with it and not focus on the nightmares I have every night of the skitter factory."I felt Ben nod in agreement on my head.

I couldn't believe how understanding Ben was of all of this. I thanked him and then went to sleep with Matt next to me. I was ready to face the nightmares as I realized I could beat them.

**A/N: Read and review everybody. I love all of yall. Thanks for reading.**

Mike's sacrifice gave me strength and hope that I am able to fight this war against these Skitters.


	12. Discoveries

**A/N: Ok, sorry that this is late. Enjoy.**

Disclaimer: Ok, this is getting annoying. I know I don't own it and y'all know I don't own it, so there is no reason for this.

The morning started as usual except that Col. Porter came to the camp. Anyways, I went to go exercise with Ben and we started on a run. We ran for about an hour and then we did jumping jacks. We just kept doing them until Hal came up to us.

He said,"This stopwatch says you guys have been doing jumping jacks for two hours. Ben, Elizabeth, do you guys have anything to tell me?" I noticed Ben start to stutter, so I went to his aid.

I told Hal,"The stopwatch must be broken, we've only been doing jumping jacks for fifteen minutes. I promise you,Hal, if we were doing something for too long without breaking a sweat, we would tell you."

He replied,"I believe you. Just tell me if that happens, ok." He stared at both of us and then left.

Ben came up to me and said,"You just lied to Hal."

I told him,"There are just some things he doesn't need to know about our abilities, Ben." I left Ben, after our little talk with Hal,to go help with Pope. Goodness knows she'll need it. I go into the hospital room and see my Dad, Capt. Weaver and in the room.

Porter said,"Isn't that the ex-con that fired on your unit?

Pope sneered at him and said,"That was so three weeks ago." I giggled when Pope said that. I finished re-bandaging his wound.

Weaver went over to Rick and I went with him. Rick was drawing a picture of some houses. Weaver was focused intently on one house and he looked deep in thought. I shook his shoulder to bring him out of his thought and he jumped like three feet in the air.

I asked him with concern,"Capt.,are you alright? Do I need to get ?"

He smiled at me and said,"No, Elizabeth. I am fine, dear. You just help and Lourdes."

I left Weaver and saw,in the corner of my eye, Rick give Weaver the picture.

Weaver's POV

'I wonder why Rick drew this picture. How does he know where I used to live? I can't go to sleep. I hate to do this, but I need to sleep.' These were my thoughts as I popped the pills in my mouth.

Tom's POV

"Is Weaver coming with us on this scouting mission? I asked Hal and Dai.

They replied,"We don't know."

I asked,"Have you guys noticed anything off about him? I stopped talking as I heard Weaver come in the room with us. He said he was going with us,instead of Dai. We left for our mission.

My POV

I went with Matt to Uncle Scott's room, where he was working on mech parts. I promised Dad I would watch Matt while he was gone and I was curious. We saw Pope in there and he was messing with broken mech parts. He was mocking the technology.

Uncle Scott showed Pope one of the heads of a mech and when Pope touched it, it blasted a hole in the wall. Matt grabbed on to me and then ran out of the room. I gave Pope a cold gaze and ran after Matt. I found him in the hallway sitting with his knees up to his chest. I went over to him and he started crying in my chest. I pushed him away and grabbed him by the shoulders.

I told him,"Matt, don't be scared. It's alright, I won't let anything bad ever happen to you. I promise."

Matt looked at me and said,"I want to fight with you, Hal, Ben, and Dad. Do you promise you won't let me get hurt?"

I told him,"I pinky swear and I think Dad would have a heart attack if I let you fight. I can ask him if I can teach you how to defend yourself though." Matt smiled at me and he agreed to wait for me to teach him.

I told Matt,"Now, I need to go with Ben for a sort of check up with . I want you to stay away from Pope until I get back. Alright? Go play with your other friends."

He asked me with concern in his voice,"Is it your spikes?"

"I don't know, buddy."

examined us both and she touched our skin around the spikes and asked if we could feel it. We said we couldn't.

Anne's POV

Ben's and Elizabeth's spikes should've been gone by now. The skin around it is brown and crusty and they can't feel a thing when I touch it. Maybe I should have a look at that dead skitter to see if I can confirm my fears. I told them they were fine and they left the room. I told Lourdes I needed to see her later this afternoon.

Hal's POV

Dad, Weaver and I were on our scouting mission. Weaver told us that the structure was made simple. I looked through my old binoculars and saw an alien we had never seen before. It was really tall, grayish-blue in color, and looked like a fish. I showed Capt. Weaver and Dad and they said it looked as if it was the commander of the skitters.

We heard someone calling out to us and we ran. Gunshots rang out behind us as we came up to a middle-aged woman, probably in her late 50's or early 60's.

She brought me and Dad into her house as Weaver stayed outside as guard.

My POV

I followed Matt back into Uncle Scott's room and saw Pope still in there. Matt grabbed a hold of me and looked at me with fear. I soothed him and said, "Shooo, it's alright."

I questioned Pope, "Right, Pope? They are safe."

Matt says out loud, "I sometimes have nightmares about these beings, but I wanna be brave for my family."

Pope said, "It's alright, little buddy. The parts are dead and the robots are just parts and gears. You know the bullets they use to shoot at us with?" Matt and I nodded our heads up and down.

"Well, the bullets are our military bullets reconstituted."

Matt said with awe, "We should totally use this against them." I giggled at my brother's ambition to destroy the aliens.

Pope said, "From the mouth of babes." I could tell Pope was inspired by Matt's idea. I left Mattie with Pope to go talk with Rick and Ben.

Ben and Rick were in the courtyard talking when I found them. I stayed behind one of the trees and listened to them talk. Ben was playing nice.

Ben asked, "How are you doing, Rick?"

Rick replied,"These humans don't understand why we do what we do, but they will."

Ben looked confused,"Rick, if you wanna talk about your Dad, I'm here for you."

Rick showed no expression when he said,"I don't care about him, I am with the skitters now, they are my true family." When Rick said that I couldn't stay hidden much longer, I came out of my hiding spot.

I yelled,"How dare you say that! You're father loved you and you disgrace him like that! I know that you were taken before me and Ben, but if you haven't noticed, you are here with us away from those evil creatures that are set on killing us off and living on our own land! Why are you on their side? Just give me a reason, one measly little reason." Rick left the courtyard leaving me and Ben alone.

Ben said,"Why did you say that to him? We don't know what he's going through."

I replied,"Ben, he doesn't care about Mike anymore, he is with them. Can't you see that? I have tried to tolerate his decision thinking it was withdrawal from them, but now I know. He is still attached to them." I sighed.

Hal's POV

The lady introduced herself to us as Sonia. She told us she had lived her for many years and this was her home.

Dad asked, "Didn't the aliens try to take you and you're neighbors?"

Miss Sonia answered in a sad voice,"Yes, oh yes. They came in and took all of us and put us in this camp. A few of us managed to escape seeing as the aliens didn't care if we lived or died. My husband was left behind that day." She began to tear up at the end.

She continued,"None of them care about any of just want to kill our planet."

I heard an engine revving up outside and ran out there with Dad trailing me. We saw Weaver on one of the bikes racing off down the street.

Anne's POV

Lourdes and I went down to the basement to take a look at the dead skitter we had down there to do experiments on. This skitter had been dead for awhile. I cut deep into the disgusting creature and ripped apart the cut skin. Below the layers of skin, we saw a harness. The skitters were something else before they became skitters.

I told Lourdes,"After everything Tom has done to get Elizabeth and Ben back, he could still lose them."

Hal's POV

Dad left me with Miss Sonia as he went after Weaver. I went back inside and we talked about what we did before the invasion. I told her I played lacrosse at school and she told me her son played the game too. After two hours of conversations, we heard motorcyle engines turning off. I go outside and see a mech coming near Dad and Weaver. I told them to turn around and we began to shoot at it.

Dad asked,"How did they know we were here?

I said,"Sonia was the only one who knew we were here."

We went back inside and confronted Sonia.

She told us that she made a deal with the skitters that they would keep her alive if she turned in people that came her way. I heard a noise outside in the hallway and look through the keyhole and saw the "fishhead" thing staring at me. It must of thought I was Sonia, because it left and a harnessed kid came to the door.

The kid said,"Sonia, we brought you food." I could tell it was a girl by her high-pitched voice and it sounded familar. It was Karen. Dad had to hold me back as I lunged for the door.

We told Sonia that she could come with us and apparently she had gotten delusional, because she told us she was waiting for her family to return to her. We told her that we were headed to Glocester, which is where the school is, and left.

My POV

Dad, Hal, and Weaver came back home after two days and I ran up to hug them. After we caught up on things, we heard yelling in the courtyard. We rushed to the courtyard and saw that it was Pope rallying up the people of the 2nd mass.

Pope tells us he and an accomplice came up with the way to destroy mechs. He shot a regular bullet at a mech's head part. It bounced off and then he put a different kind of bullet in the gun. He aimed it at the mech head and pulled the trigger. It blasted a hole right through the head.

I noticed Rick running off.

Pope yelled,"We are bringing the fight to them!"

I began cheering with everybody else and I picked Matt up. I smiled at him and said great job. He smiled back.

We learned a lot of new things today.


	13. Weaver's not right

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It had been a few days since we found out we could destroy mechs with their own weaponry. We were all in the gymnasium watching a cartoon flick. It looked like one of those old "Looney Tunes" show. It was the road runner and the coyote. We were all laughing and laughing at it, since we all hadn't seen innocence like this in forever. It reminded me of a time before I was made a fighter.

~FLASHBACK~

It was two years before all of this chaos began. I was about eleven years old, Matt was eight , Ben was thirteen, and Hal was fifteen. Mom was still with us and we were a very happy family. Well Dad and Mom were both at work at the university and Hal was watching us kids. Ben stayed in his room and read his comic books, like always. Matt and I stayed in the living room watching tv.

I was going through the channels and I saw "Looney Tunes" on.

I asked Matt," Hey, Mattie. You wanna watch this show. It's your favorite show."

Matt, being eight, said in his silly voice," Wooney Lunes, Wooney Lunes. I wanna watch Wooney Lunes."

I laughed in my high pitched voice and said," Ok, ok calm down, little buddy. We'll watch Wooney Lunes.

He began laughing so hard and it was so contagious that I began laughing also. Before I even put the show on, Matt and I were rolling messes on the floor. We made so much noise that Ben came into the room. He saw us laughing and had a confused look on his face.

He asked,"What happened?"

I only said one word before me and Matt burst into laughter," Wooney Lunes."

Ben looked mad but his smile came into play. Pretty soon, Ben was on the floor with us. Eventually Hal came into the living room and saw all of us in a rolling, laughing mess on the floor. He asked the same question as Ben did.

We all screamed,"WOONEY LUNES!"

Mom and Dad came back from work and saw all of us in the livingroom with the tv on and us on the floor, laughing. Mom began laughing at us.

"What happened to you guys?" Mom asked.

I got up and took a deep breath to calm myself.

"OK, so Matt and I were watching tv and I saw "Looney Tunes" on and I asked Mattie if he wanted to watch it. He said he wanted to watch "Wooney Lunes". He was so eager to watch it, that we started laughing. Ben and Hal came and saw us laughing and began laughing themselves. We've been like this for awhile."

I thought to myself," I promise that I will keep Matt's innocence for as long as I can."

~END OF FLASHBACK~

This memory left me with laughter and sadness. I wasn't able to keep my promise to him. Because of these aliens, we all had to grow up pretty fast. Hal is like our second father, because Dad is so busy. Ben and I have our problems and Matt just isn't the little kid he used to be.

We continued to watch the movie when I heard Anne talking to Dad. I heard her tell Dad that Ben and I were supposed to have already lost our spikes like all the other kids. She also told Dad that her and Lourdes looked at the dead skitter and found a harness on it.

She said,"The skitters were something else before they were skitters. They were harnessed just like the kids and apparently changed."

I slumped down into my chair, supressing a sob. Even though my harness was taken off, I could still be under their control. I could change into a skitter. I heard Dad sigh with sadness and I looked back at him. His eyes connected with mine and we shared an emotion of sadness.

Suddenly Dai came bursting into the room, panting. Weaver yelled that the mission was still a go for tomorrow. Dad stood up and began challenging Weaver and he got very upset.

He said,"Fighters need to have complete confidence in their leader to have success in their missions."

Dad nodded his head in agreement and pledged his allegiance to Weaver. I left the gym to go get some equipment for the mission and saw Anne, Lourdes, and Dad in the hallway. I got behind a wall and eavesdropped on the conversation. They were talking about Weaver.

Lourdes told Dad,"Weaver has been asking for uppers and downers pills. He is on an addictive cycle."

This is very troubling right before our mission.

The next morning I went with Matt to go help Pope make more mech bullets.

Pope asked us,"So, the youngest Masons, what's it like to be a Mason?"

Matt retaliated,"What's it like to have hair like a girl?"

Matt and I left the room and saw Dad being carried down to the lock up room. I saw him carried by two fighters that we had fought with since the invasion.

I screamed,"DAD! WHY ARE THEY TAKING YOU?" Matt and I ran towards Dad. Other fighters held us back as we struggled to get to our father. Matt got away from them and ran to Weaver's office.

"MATT, COME BACK! Dad, I will come back for you, I promise.

I ran after Matt, but saw him with some of his friends. I continued to meander through the hallways and saw Ben with Uncle Scott. I followed them into Uncle Scott's workshop.

I went inside the room and saw Uncle Scott working on a radio. He turned it on,after he got the power, and I heard this screeching noise. I gasped loudly, doubled over, and covered my ears. Uncle Scott and Ben rushed over to me. Ben grabbed me on my arms and turned me around to face him.

Ben asked me,"Liz, are you alright? What's wrong?"

I replied with a shortness of breath,"Just...turn...that...thing...off. Please." I saw in the corner of my eye Uncle Scott turning off the radio. The screeching noise immediately stopped and I straightened up. I was so confused. I began looking at my hands, making sure they were still my hands.

Ben was looking at me with concern in his eyes. He asked me,"What just happened? What's going on?"

I replied,"It's probably nothing. My ears just started hurting. I'm fine, now. Really, it's alright."

Ben didn't look convinced, but gave me the 'we will talk about this later' look.

That night, Ben and I went out into the courtyard after supper and sat down on the bench. We talked about ordinary things and I told Ben about Dad's capture. We talked about anything and everything for about an hour. Just brother and sister bonding until it got serious. Ben's and my fun facade disappeared.

Ben asked,"What happened in the workshop today? You apparently looked like you were in pain."

I replied,"You remember the night we were all watching the cartoon in the gym? Well I heard Dad and Anne talking about you and me. Anne said that our spikes were supposed to come off by now. She also said the skitters were once harnessed, like us. That they changed. I think I was connected to the skitters when Uncle Scott turned on the radio. I think I was hearing them talk."

Ben was speechless. Rick came by and heard the end of our conversation.

He said,"You didn't tell Scott because you are afraid."

"What should she be afraid about, Rick?" Ben asked.

Rick replied,"She can feel the change coming. She is changing into them."

I ran away crying. Ben turned around and came running after me. He yelled,"ELIZABETH!"

The next morning, at breakfast, Jimmy came to the Mason and Friends table, as I like to call it, and asked to speak to me, Hal, and Maggie. He told us that Dad was in a makeshift jail in the basement. Jimmy offered to bring Dad breakfast and then he would motion Dad to come out. Maggie and I were to cover Jimmy while Hal stayed outside waiting.

I made a breakfast plate for Dad of his favorite foods. I gave it to Jimmy and we went down to Dad's cell. I saw Danner, one of Weaver's loyal fighters, beside the cell door. We said hello to Danner and told him we brought my Dad some food. Jimmy went up to the door and nodded his head to Dad. Dad nodded back and when Danner opened the door, Dad burst out. He and Danner started fighting and that's when I went to go get Hal.

Hal came in with his gun cocked and stopped the fight. I got some rope that was in the corner and helped Hal and Dad tie Danner up, while Jimmy and Maggie made sure nobody was coming. We left the room and went to the infirmary to check on Dai. I got in the room and gave him a big, yet gentle, hug. I, like Hal, was close to Dai. He returned it and then both of us got serious.

Dad asked him about the night he came back. Dai told us that Porter was probably dead because of a huge skitter attack on the group and told Dai to tell Weaver to abort the mission. Weaver ignored the order, which means Weaver has cracked. We left Dai to recover and get some rest.

I went back to Uncle Scott's room and saw Ben in there. They were testing the radio again. I hesitated before going inside because of fear of what could happen. I swallowed my fear and walked courageously into the room. Ben saw me and concern appeared in his eyes.

He said,"Liz, are you sure you should be here with us tuning the radio?"

I replied,"I am scared, but my courage surpasses the fear." I passed by Ben with my head held high. He followed me to where Uncle Scott was.

I nodded to Scott and he turned on the radio. He switched through the channels and went to the one that affected me yesterday. I braced myself for the pain, but none came. I stared at the radio with confusion. Scott turned the knob to another channel. I gritted my teeth through the pain and saw Ben wince at the noise.

He said,"I don't know who I am anymore."

I put my arm around Ben and brought him close to me. I whispered to him,"It will be ok, we will work this through together. I promise."

We went to the gym and saw Dad, Anne, and Weaver talking to each other.

Dad was telling Weaver that we wanted him as our leader and we wanted to follow him. We trusted him as a leader. Weaver told Dad to bring everybody in the gym.

Weaver said,"I will stop taking those pills when we get back from our mission."

Weaver told everybody that Porter was probably dead because of the skitters. He asked for 50 volunteers for the fight in Boston and asked for them to meet at the front. I decided to stay here with Ben and Matt. I promised Dad and myself that I would watch over the both of them.

Ben and I wanted to help with figuring out the skitters' radio channels. I think Uncle Scott told Dad about our ability.

Tom's POV

Hal is going on the mission in Boston. Ben and Elizabeth are able to hear the skitters. Matt is becoming more mature than a kid his age should be. Can anything else go wrong?


	14. Is This The End?

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**Obsessedwiththatmassettass1: Thank you for all the support, advice, and listening to me talk. **

**Also, thank you to all of my reviewers and non reviewers.Y'all really make my day. **

**This is the last chapter to this first season. Please PM me or leave a beautiful review telling me if I should do the next season. **

Disclaimer: I love this show but I have never bought the rights to the show. So I don't own the show.

Dad had found out about us. He asked Ben to help him find a new battery for the radio. They left me and Scott alone in the room. We were talking when Scott told me to be quiet. He looked up and I did too. Rick was crawling on the ceiling.

He looked at us and said," I won't let you hurt them!

He pounced off of the ceiling and fell on Scott. He started fighting him and I ran over and started fighting Rick. I definitely got his attention then.

He turned around and started to walk towards me as I backed up. I held up my hands, showing I meant no harm to him.

"Now, Rick, you don't want to do this. You are not a killer, you are not like them. Please, Rick, you are still human. We are still human. We can work through this together. I promise." I told him.

He began laughing. He said," Oh aren't you so naive. You still think you are normal. You can't be further from the truth. You are one of them. You won't tell Ben or anybody, but I can tell. You are changing into one of them. Pretty soon you will go back to them, just like me. You should've lost your spikes, but you haven't. You wanna know why, because they need you. They need us for a project they are working on. They will call you back. You will always be a part of them."

I said in my most confident voice," No, you are wrong. I would never leave for them. Never in a million years. You or them can never make me."

Rick charged at me and knocked me against the wall. I saw the ground rushing to me and then everything went black.

Ben's POV

Dad and I found the new battery and were going back to the room where Scott and Elizabeth were at. Anne came up to us and asked if Dad could go with her to the infirmary. He did and I went inside the room. I saw Elizabeth against the wall, unconscious and Uncle Scott in a corner. He was awake so I went over to help him. I helped him up.

I asked him," Uncle Scott, who did this to you and Elizabeth?"

He answered," It was Rick. He came in crawling on the ceiling and he jumped on me and began fighting me. I heard Elizabeth talking to him, trying to calm him down, and he threw her against the wall. She hit her head pretty hard. That's all I can tell you."

I went over to Liz and checked her back and head to see if there were any injuries. She didn't have any that I could see, but I picked her up and brought her to Anne in the infirmary. Scott was behind me. Anne took her from me and put her down on a bed. She asked me some questions.

"Who did this to her?"

"Rick did it."

"How long ago did this happen?

"I was gone for only ten minutes so I would say ten minutes ago."

"Why would Rick do this to her?"

"Scott said that he said that they wouldn't hurt the skitters and that Elizabeth apparently got in Rick's way."

"That is all I need right now, Ben. I will keep you updated."

"Just please, fix her quickly."

"Don't worry, she will be up and walking in no time." Anne smiled at me, like that would make me feel better.

I went to go find Rick. I found him in the courtyard, sitting on the bench. He was holding something in his hand. It was a piece of the radio. I ran up to him.

I yelled at him,"You insolate little freak! Elizabeth has been nothing but kind to you since we were unharnessed. What has she done to you to deserve this?"

"She got in my way and she doesn't care about her family anymore. She cares more about the humans than her own family. But she will go to them when she is ready."

"You are such an ignoramus. She hates the skitters. She will never go to them."

"Why do you want them gone?"

"I want them out of my head."

"Why? They are better than the humans."

Rick ran out into the woods and I saw a girl with him. My ears heard them and she said," You must tell us everything about them." Rick nodded his head, eagerly.

Tom's POV

I left the school to go for a little walk. I was in the woods when I heard constant mumbling. I walked towards the sound and saw Rick sitting on the ground, rocking himself. I walked toward him and he said," They left me all alone, they didn't want me anymore. They only wanted information." He looked up at me and said," I am so sorry for what I have done. I have told them."

I asked him," What did you tell them?"

He said,"Everything, but they didn't want me." I grabbed Rick and we both walked back to the school, hugging each other the whole way.

Ben's POV

I left and went to go see if Elizabeth was awake yet. I went into the room and saw Matt and Dad.

Anne said,"Good all of you are here. I have good and bad news. Which do you want first?"

Dad said," We will take the bad news first."

Anne sighed and said," Elizabeth is in a coma, but besides that she is perfectly fine. Apparently, the hit she took was hard enough for her to go inside herself. I am truly sorry."

I walked out of the room. I heard Dad following me. He grabbed my shoulder and turned me around. He said," Ben."

I hugged Dad and buried my head into his chest. I looked up at my father and he looked down at me and smiled.

"Dad, she will be alright. Won't she?"

"I really don't know, Ben, but she is very strong. She got that from your mother. She will pull out of this."

We went back into the room and Anne said that only one person could stay the night. I volunteered myself and Dad allowed it. They left and I positioned myself comfortably in the chair next to her bed. I grabbed a hold of her hand and just talked to her.

"Lizzy, I hope you can hear me. I need you to come back. Dad and Matt came by. Dad tried to be strong, but I can tell he is struggling. We need you to come back to us. We love you. I know I don't say it often as your older brother, but I love you. Now I am going to get a little bit of sleep, but if you need anything, you squeeze my hand. Alright."

I fell asleep with my hand inside of Lizzy's.

My POV

I looked around me and saw only black. There was a thick fog around me that encircled me like a veil. The fog's tendrils wrapped me in a warm embrace making me not want to leave. I began to hear somebody talking but it sounded like muffles. I listened harder and heard Ben say he loved me and they needed me. He said I needed to come back to them.

I began to fight my way through the fog as it tried to keep me in its grip. I started to see some light after what seemed like hours of fighting the fog. I began to feel very exhausted and the fog felt so comforting at the moment.

I wanted to go to sleep in its warm embrace, but pictures of Dad, Matt, Anne, Scott, Hal and Ben came into my mind and I fought the urge. My family needed me and I'll be darned if I don't go back. I climbed my way up to the light and broke through the fog and that is when the pain broke through also. It hit me so hard I fell back.

I knew the pain was just a way of me coming back, so I began to fight to open my eyes. It was like I was trying to pick up 2 ton weights. I finally managed to open my eyes and saw Ben sitting next to me, holding my hand. He must have fallen asleep while waiting for me.

"Ben... Ben." My voice was hoarse. He didn't wake up so I squeezed his hand. He immediately sat up in his chair. He looked around and then set his eyes on me. He gasped and then grabbed a hold of me and hugged me. Then I saw Ben do something I have never seen him do, he began to cry.

"It's nice to see you awake, Sleeping Beauty. I've been waiting for you." I said to make a joke.

He stopping crying and laughed. I couldn't remeber what happened, the last thing I remember is seeing Rick hurt Uncle Scott a few hours ago.

I asked Ben,"What happened? The last thing I remember is Rick hurting Uncle Scott and me talking to him. Why am I in the infirmary?" Ben's face grew concerned.

"Liz, don't you remember? Rick attacked you and you hit your head on the wall pretty hard. I came and found you and took you to Anne. She told us you were in a coma. You have been in a coma for three days. I haven't left your side for one little thing.

Matt and Dad came by, but couldn't stay long. Matt started to cry and he began yelling at you to come back. Dad had to take him away until he was better. He came back and began to apologize, which made him cry more. I could tell Dad was in pain, but you know how he is with his emotions. Seals them up where noone can see them, just like you. We are all just glad you are alright."

I listened intently as I felt tears fall down my face. 'I caused all of this pain. How could I do this to them?'

Ben went to go get Dad, Anne, and Matt. They all came in and gave me hugs.

Dad said," Good, you're awake. We need to evacuate. Now. The mechs are on their way and we need to leave."

I jumped out of my bed and said, "What...NO. I am staying. The skitters keep changing their frequences on the radio. Ben and I are the only ones who can find them. So I am staying."

Dad tried to protest, but knew that once I set my mind on something there was nothing that could stop me. Dad ran outside leaving me and Ben, once again, with Scott.

We immediately began going the channels and worked harder once we heard the mechs coming. I looked out the window for one second and saw the defense line taking down a mech. I celebrated in the victory, but it was short lived, as we had just found the right channel. The noise was so agonizing to my ears that I collapsed on the floor. I picked myself up and noticed that the mechs kept coming.

"Ben, the signal. It's not strong enough. We need a stronger signal."

Ben began to look around and we both spotted the flag pole, all bare in sweet, beautiful metal. I grabbed some jumper cables and, with Ben at my side, ran to the flag pole. The mechs started firing at us, but we kept on running. When we reach the pole, I put one of the cables on the radio and Ben put the other on the flag pole. The mechs walked around clumsily and then turned back around.

Dad came over and embraced us both. Hal, surprisingly, came up to us and snuck into the hug. We all backed up and looked at Hal in confusion. He told us that Weaver wanted him to come back and say that the other regiments didn't show up and that they were most likely walking into a slaughter.

Dad took the radio from my hands and went to talk to Anne. I heard him with my super- hearing.

Anne asked,"Are you ready to go?"

Dad said," I am not going with you, yet." I saw Anne and Dad kiss passionately and then Anne asked about us.

Dad said," If anything happens to me, I wouldn't trust anybody else but you to take of my children."

I ran up to Dad's truck and told him I was coming with him. He didn't protest and I climbed into the back of the truck, being the cover. We arrived and saw Pope clutching a bloody Anthony to his chest. I told Pope to drive Anthony back to the camp in our truck. Pope wished us good luck and that Weaver was in a truck not too far ahead of us.

Dad started walking to Weaver and I began to follow, but Pope grabbed my arm. I turned around.

He said," You're good, kid. Even for a Mason, you're good."

With that I followed Dad to Weaver's truck. We found the truck that Weaver was in and Dad opened up the door. Weaver was bleeding in the truck when we saw him.

Dad said," We rattled their cage." We all smiled at that statement.

I looked up and my smile vanished as I saw the mothership. When I saw it, Rick's words came flooding back into my mind. I remembered that they could call me back anytime they wanted. We saw all of these ships flying towards the mothership and Dad brought out a rocket launcher, Pope must have given it to him.

Dad shot at one of the ships and it was a direct shot. It flew into the mothership and it exploded into beautiful acts of fire. Right after that, a ship flew down and the Overlord, fishy head aliens, and Karen walked down from the ramp. I felt my body go rigid stiff. I felt as if my fate was in their hands.

I heard Karen say," We want to talk." I wanted to yell at her for her idiocy.

Dad took my place and yelled," You take our children, our families, our homes, kill millions of us, and now you want to talk!"

Karen said," They don't understand the level of resistance you humans have brought."

I saw Dad about to shoot the Overlord and Karen interrupted him.

She said," You don't want to do that Tom."

Dad asked," Why wouldn't I want to?"

"Because of Elizabeth and Ben, we can call them back. If you don't believe me, then just watch this."

Dad looked confused and I felt confused. Then I felt something crawling their way into my mind. I heard a voice saying COME. I felt my feet walk towards Karen, when I finally stopped. Dad must've stopped her.

I was released from their hold and I collapsed on the ground, holding my head in pain. I felt Dad and Weaver come over to me and grab me. They picked me up and Dad had Weaver hold me up.

Dad said," If I come with you, will you leave them alone?"

Karen said in a monotone voice," Of course we will, Tom."

I started screaming for Dad to come back and Weaver began to join in with me. Dad turned away from Karen.

He looked at me and said," I am sorry, but this is to protect you guys. Tell your brothers I love them. Sweetie, I love you very much. This is for you and Ben. I love you."

Despite mine and Weaver's protests, my father followed the Overlord and Karen into the ship. After Karen and Dad got on the ship, the Overlord turned around and pointed at me. I felt my body go stiff again as something crawled its way into my mind as I tried to fight it.

Weaver's POV

I felt Elizabeth go stiff in my arms and then she straightened up, but with a different look about her. She spoke and it was her voice, but it wasn't all the same.

She said to me," Thank you, Capt. Weaver, for letting me have this talk with you and letting me have Tom Mason." With that, the Overlord walked back to the ship and boarded it.

Elizabeth collapsed on the ground and I went to pick her up. She was unconscious. I carried her back to the truck and placed her in the passenger seat. Her head lolled to the side. I really hoped she was alright. She reminded me highly of my youngest daughter Sophia. Elizabeth is so full of light, kindness, and energy despite everything she has been through.

As we were halfway back to the school, Elizabeth sat up and gasped loudly. She began breathing heavily and she looked around confusingly. I stepped on the brakes and put my hand on Elizabeth's shoulder. She looked at me with fear plain in her eyes.

She asked me,"What happened to me?"

I felt my lips quiver as I spoke," The Overlord took control of you and spoke to me through you. After he left, you went unconscious and I carried you back to the truck. Your father did a very heroic act for you guys tonight, remember that. Ok, sweetie. He'll come back, he always comes back."

"But what if he doesnt. What if they kill him to get to me and Ben. What if they come back for us. What if..."

Elizabeth began to cry and I continued driving, knowing she needed this moment to compose herself before telling her brothers. I know she thinks no-one else sees how big of an act she puts on for her brothers, but I can see that she is very fragile right now. Tom thinks that this helped them, and it probably will, but it will also destroy them, especially Elizabeth and Matt.

We came up to the school and I helped Elizabeth out of the truck, in spite of my injury. Anne came up to us and sent us both to the infirmary.

I fell asleep during my "surgery".

When I woke up, I saw Elizabeth asleep with her brothers surrounding her, also asleep. You wouldn't think an image that beautiful could be in a world like this.

My POV

When I woke up all if the memories came back to me. I screamed NOO! My brothers all woke up and so did Weaver. They all looked at me.

Hal asked me where Dad was. Nobody had told them any news yet, since me and Weaver were the only ones who knew.

I told them," Dad left us and went with Karen on one of their ships. He probably won't be coming back."

I watched as I saw my siblings, even Hal, begin to cry. My eyes brought tears and I wept over my father, over my harness, over everything that had happened to me, my family and the 2nd Mass.


End file.
